---
title: "Apple Ads creative: the paywall step teams skip"
description: "Apple Ads creative is the image or video an advertiser uploads directly for Today tab and search results ads, replacing the screenshots Apple assembles.…"
url: "https://adapty.io/blog/apple-ads-creative/"
language: "en"
slug: "apple-ads-creative"
category: "grow-your-app"
date: "2026-09-26T10:44:41.551Z"
date_modified: "2026-09-26T10:45:32.356Z"
author: "Mykola Martynovets"
---

# Apple Ads creative: the paywall step teams skip

## TL;DR

- Apple Ads creative is the image or video an advertiser uploads directly for Today tab and search results ads, replacing the screenshots Apple assembles.
- Apple has announced the capability but has not shipped it.
- As of September 26, 2026, [Apple Ads Help](https://ads.apple.com/app-store/h/help/design-your-own-ads-with-creative-assets) still calls it "coming this fall." The asset is the easy part — the real work is preparing the custom product page (CPP) and paywall it will point to.

## What's changing in Apple Ads creative

![Three App Store product pages (Forest Explorer, Airline, The Coast) each showing a new illustrated product page header above the app's normal listing.](https://asaimages.adapty.io/blog/apple-ads-custom-creative-assets-cpp-paywall-chain-teams-need/apple-store-header-lockup-f2799b56ac68.png)
*Apple's own example: the new product page header sits above the normal listing. Source: developer.apple.com/app-store/asset-best-practices.*

Apple Ads creative shifts control of the ad from Apple to the advertiser. Today, Apple builds these ads from the app's product page screenshots — you control the screenshots, not the ad. The new capability reverses that: you upload the image or video yourself.

Two consequences follow. The asset passes two separate reviews before it can run. And it lands on a CPP, not the app's default page. The ad becomes a chain of three linked promises — creative, CPP, paywall — instead of one image.

| Date | What happened |
| --- | --- |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Apple announces Creative Assets and the Asset Library at WWDC26 |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Apple publishes design templates and best-practice guidance ahead of launch |
| Sep 9, 2026 | iOS 27 opens for submissions; product page headers and search assets go live; the preview tool is "coming soon" |
| Sep 26, 2026 (today) | Apple Ads custom creative is still "coming this fall," not yet available in campaigns |

For the broader background on Apple's 2026 App Store creative assets, see [Apple's new App Store creative assets: what changes in iOS 27](https://adapty.io/blog/app-store-creative-assets/); this piece covers Apple Ads specifically.

> **Key point:** Apple Ads creative replaces Apple-assembled screenshot ads with advertiser-uploaded assets that must clear a multi-stage review and land on a custom product page.

## Specs and the pricing rule for Apple Ads creative

![Three App Store search results (Forest Explorer, Airline, The Coast), each with a dedicated search result creative asset instead of the default screenshot.](https://asaimages.adapty.io/blog/apple-ads-custom-creative-assets-cpp-paywall-chain-teams-need/apple-store-search-lockup-72404c76ee84.png)
*Apple's own example: a dedicated search result asset instead of the default screenshot fallback. Source: developer.apple.com/app-store/asset-best-practices.*

Apple Ads creative assets follow specs Apple Ads Help states directly, plus one content rule that changes the work for subscription apps.

| Item | What Apple states |
| --- | --- |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 for images and video |
| Video length | 5–30 seconds |
| Where video runs | Search results ads only; Today tab needs a still image |
| Audio | Optional; audio will not play |
| Text | Embedded, localizable per country or region |
| Landing target | A CPP, with an optional deep link, set in the Apple Ads account |
| Review | Two stages: App Store Connect, then a separate Apple Ads review |

Ad-specific guidelines arrive "at a later date." Budget for unpublished rules, not skipped review.

Apple's asset best practices also ban pricing, discounts, offer copy, website URLs, and unverifiable claims from the asset itself. For a subscription app, that pricing ban does real damage. No trial length. No percentage off. No monthly price. That message has to move — to the CPP, or the paywall.

Whether a CPP that states the offer plainly converts better than one that only continues the creative's feature promise is worth testing, not assuming.

> **Key point:** Apple's spec allows no pricing or discount messaging on the Apple Ads creative asset itself, only on the CPP or paywall it points to.

## The chain: creative promise → CPP → paywall

![A Today tab ad for the fictional app AwayFinder, showing a custom "The JetAway Event" creative instead of a screenshot-built ad.](https://asaimages.adapty.io/blog/apple-ads-custom-creative-assets-cpp-paywall-chain-teams-need/apple-ads-today-tab-6d51f1394246.jpg)
*Apple's own example: a Today tab ad built from custom creative. Source: ads.apple.com.*

![A search results ad for "vacation planner" showing the same "The JetAway Event" creative, landing on the Travel Bucket List app's custom product page.](https://asaimages.adapty.io/blog/apple-ads-custom-creative-assets-cpp-paywall-chain-teams-need/apple-ads-search-cpp-deeplink-dbf1d2540c48.jpg)
*Apple's own example: one search ad, one custom product page, one continued promise. Source: ads.apple.com.*

The chain behind Apple Ads creative has three links. The creative makes a promise. The CPP continues it. The paywall closes it.

The first two links pass through review: App Store Connect vets the asset, Apple Ads reviews the ad, the CPP needs approval. Nothing reviews the third link.

Here is the common failure: a sharp creative for one feature routes to a matching CPP. A user taps a narrow, high-intent search ad, sees a page about that feature, then lands on the same general paywall everyone else sees. The promise dies at the tap.

It's worse now: the offer message got evicted from the asset. Either the CPP says it, the paywall does, or nobody does.

An asset can also point at a deep link instead of a CPP; the same rule applies at whatever screen opens.

Adapty's own analysis of that chain — today's screenshot-built ads, not the unreleased feature — found something worth acting on: a keyword-matched CPP with a matching paywall lifted install-to-trial and trial-to-paid conversion, and improved ROAS. Read that as direction, not a precise multiplier.

None of this has to wait for Apple Ads creative upload to ship — [Adapty Ads Manager](https://adapty.io/docs/ads-manager-manage-ads) already closes the paywall link on today's ads, in a few steps:

1. Assign the CPP to the ad: pick an ad group, select an approved CPP. One CPP per ad — only the name and status can change later.
2. Turn the ad group or keyword set into an Adapty Ads Manager segment, using [Actions > Create segment from...](https://adapty.io/docs/ads-manager-create-segments).
3. Match that segment to a paywall — add it to a placement, or build a new one, optionally as an A/B test.

That third step makes a keyword-based paywall real: high-intent keywords get a feature-focused paywall, broad ones get a general paywall. [CPP A/B tests](https://adapty.io/docs/ads-manager-cpp-ab-tests) compare pages against the default once an ad group has enough traffic.

One app already runs this: [AI Video](https://adapty.io/case-studies/ai-video/), a 2026 Adapty case study, paired Apple Ads keyword tracking with paywall variants matched to search query.

> **Key point:** A creative asset, a CPP, and a paywall form one connected promise, and the paywall link can be closed in Adapty Ads Manager before Apple Ads creative upload ships.

## Preparation checklist and what to test at launch

The checklist for Apple Ads creative combines Apple's guidance with the paywall step teams tend to skip. Before it ships:

- Download Apple's templates (Figma, Photoshop, Pixelmator, Sketch). Build one still image for Today tab ads and one 3:2 search-results asset.
- Pick a small set of keyword themes and map each to a CPP and deep link.
- For video, stay within the 5–30 second window, silent-first, with a strong poster frame and a seamless loop.
- Keep one clear idea per asset, legible localized text, and safe areas for every device.
- Move the offer message off the asset now, onto the CPP or the paywall.
- For each keyword theme, create the segment and attach its paywall before launch, not after.

On launch day, upload the assets and allow time for both reviews. Run a product page optimization test — header versus none — separately from the Apple Ads test. Compare TTR and CR after two weeks, not two days.

One caveat: an ad group runs one active ad, so old and new creative can't run side by side — use two similar ad groups instead.

Still a guess: the ship date and the final review guidelines.

> **Key point:** The paywall routing for Apple Ads creative can be built and tested before the upload feature itself ships.

## FAQ

### What is changing about Apple Ads creative this fall?

Apple Ads is moving from screenshot-assembled ads to advertiser-uploaded creative, for Today tab and search results ads. As of September 26, 2026, Apple still calls this "coming this fall."

### What are the specs for Apple Ads custom creative (aspect ratio, video length, audio, text)?

Apple Ads Help states a 3:2 aspect ratio, 5–30 second video for search results ads only, optional audio that won't play, and localizable embedded text.

### How does an Apple Ads creative asset get approved — is it one review or two?

Two. The asset first passes App Store Connect review, then a separate Apple Ads review.

### Can I still use pricing or discount messaging in an Apple Ads creative asset?

No. Apple's asset rules ban specific pricing, discounts, and other offer copy from the asset. That message moves to the CPP or the paywall instead.

### How does the new creative asset connect to a custom product page?

The asset's landing target is a CPP, optionally reached through a deep link, both configured inside the Apple Ads account. The CPP itself still needs its own App Store approval first. ## Sources - [Apple Newsroom: App Store update (June 8, 2026)](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/apple-expands-app-store-capabilities-to-help-developers-grow-and-reach-new-users/) - [Apple Ads Help: Design your own ads with creative assets](https://ads.apple.com/app-store/h/help/design-your-own-ads-with-creative-assets) - [Apple Developer: App Store asset best practices and templates](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/asset-best-practices/) - [Apple Developer News: App Store submissions now open for the latest OS releases](https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=k1mtkt1k) - [Apple Developer News: Get ready for new creative assets on the App Store](https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=kug6m2ea)